Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

the German sociologist TÖNNIES’ (1887) twin IDEAL-TYPE concepts referring to contrasting types of social relationship and, by extension, types of society. Gemeinschaft (usually translated as ‘community’) refers to relationships which are spontaneous and ‘affective’, tend to be related to a person's overall social status, are repeated or long-enduring (as in relationships with kin), and occur in a context involving cultural homogeneity. Characteristically, these are the relationships within families and within simpler, small-scale and premodern societies, including peasant societies. Gesellschaft (usually translated as ‘association’) refers to relationships which are individualistic, impersonal, competitive, calculative and contractual, often employing explicit conceptions of rationality and efficiency. Relationships of this type are characteristic of modern urban industrial societies in which the DIVISION OF LABOUR is advanced. For Tönnies, such relationships involved a loss of the naturalness and mutuality of earlier Gemeinschaft relationships. See also COMMUNITY.

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.